Disability Professionals in District of Columbia

A community space for students to connect and engage in discussions on policy and the intersection of Blackness, disability, and education. The Black Disability Policy Lab builds power through data, dialogue, and leadership by centering the voices of Black disabled students, families, and educators to reimagine education policy and practice. Day One is dedicated to Black disabled students in both K–12 and higher education. This student-only space provides an opportunity for participants to share their lived experiences, identify the barriers and inequities they face in educational settings, and connect with peers in a supportive environment. Together, participants will explore the changes needed to address the systemic challenges impacting Black disabled students and begin developing policy recommendations grounded in lived experience. These recommendations will help inform future advocacy efforts and contribute to building more equitable and inclusive education systems. Disclaimer: Before completing your event registration, you will be asked to answer a few optional demographic questions. Why We Ask These Questions: The Black Disability Policy Lab is committed to ensuring that our work is informed by the communities most impacted by educational inequities. The information you provide helps us understand who is participating, identify gaps in our outreach, and evaluate whether we are engaging a broad range of Black disabled students, families, educators, and advocates. Your responses will also help inform future programming, research, and policy recommendations that are grounded in the lived experiences of our communities. Your privacy is important to us. Responses will be kept confidential, reported only in aggregate whenever possible, and will never affect your eligibility to participate in the Black Disability Policy Lab. You may choose to skip any question you do not wish to answer.

A community space to connect and engage in discussions on policy and the intersection of Blackness, disability, and education. The Black Disability Policy Lab builds power through data, dialogue, and leadership by centering the voices of Black disabled students, families, and educators to reimagine education policy and practice. Day Two is open to community members, educators, families, advocates, and organizational partners. The day will begin with a panel discussion exploring what it means to navigate educational spaces as Black disabled people, highlighting the systemic barriers, opportunities for change, and collective work needed to create more equitable and inclusive learning environments. Following the panel, participants will engage in facilitated discussions to identify challenges across K–12 and higher education systems, examine the policies and practices that contribute to these inequities, and collaboratively develop policy recommendations grounded in the lived experiences and expertise of Black disabled students, families, educators, and community members. Together, these conversations will help shape actionable recommendations to advance educational equity and systems change. Disclaimer: Before completing your event registration, you will be asked to answer a few optional demographic questions. Why We Ask These Questions: The Black Disability Policy Lab is committed to ensuring that our work is informed by the communities most impacted by educational inequities. The information you provide helps us understand who is participating, identify gaps in our outreach, and evaluate whether we are engaging a broad range of Black disabled students, families, educators, and advocates. Your responses will also help inform future programming, research, and policy recommendations that are grounded in the lived experiences of our communities. Your privacy is important to us. Responses will be kept confidential, reported only in aggregate whenever possible, and will never affect your eligibility to participate in the Black Disability Policy Lab. You may choose to skip any question you do not wish to answer.